Are the posted questions getting worse?

  • Dave Ballantyne (5/26/2011)


    Gianluca Sartori (5/25/2011)


    No way, the Summit is too far and too expensive for me.

    Especially now that I'm moving into freelance consulting.

    Echo those thoughts , i could only justify going if i was speaking. Maybe next year ??

    3 Weeks into my first freelance job and its like a breath of fresh air ,being taken seriously is nice 😉

    Are you going to SqlRally Nordic ? Shorter distance at least.

    Still too far and expensive. Maybe next year, if PASS creates SqlRally Mediterranean...

    I'm glad to hear that things are going well for you.

    -- Gianluca Sartori

  • Jim Murphy (5/25/2011)


    I guess, I would love to see a precon (not necessarily this one, but here's an idea for the future), where we walk in and have a business complaint. Maybe two or three complaints that may cover 'the website is giving a timeout error 3 or 4 times a day' or something like that. Maybe throw in a possible deadlock or something. If you had a database and jobs or powershell to apply a load of poor queries and other OLTP incompatible lock activity to simulate the real world, I would love to see you go step-by-step, where you would start to isolate the largest problem first, then the next then the next. Waitstats, perfmon, dm's, trace, query analysis and statistics io/time, and the like. Disk bottleneck and too many recompiles, or other common issues. Query analysis/indexes.

    I put in a regular session where, should it be accepted, I intend to do just that (on a smaller scale). Start with a poorly performing website and, in front of the audience, trace, analyse and fix.

    http://sqlinthewild.co.za/index.php/2011/05/10/pass-summit-abstracts/ "Performance improvements in 60 min or less. Guaranteed"

    Gail Shaw
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
    SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability

    We walk in the dark places no others will enter
    We stand on the bridge and no one may pass
  • Grant Fritchey (5/25/2011)


    GilaMonster (5/25/2011)


    Grant and I are talking Execution plans for a whole day at PASS Summit this year.

    You are all coming? Right?

    WHOOP!

    I'll be there.

    It would be funny if Grant said he wasn't going. @=)

    Brandie Tarvin, MCITP Database AdministratorLiveJournal Blog: http://brandietarvin.livejournal.com/[/url]On LinkedIn!, Google+, and Twitter.Freelance Writer: ShadowrunLatchkeys: Nevermore, Latchkeys: The Bootleg War, and Latchkeys: Roscoes in the Night are now available on Nook and Kindle.

  • Jeff Moden (5/25/2011)


    GilaMonster (5/23/2011)


    Just got a PM and a mail asking for some free consulting. I sympathise with people in tough situations, but that doesn't mean I'm willing to give telephonic support for free. 🙁

    Just curious... are the initials for that person "SH"?

    No. D.

    Gail Shaw
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
    SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability

    We walk in the dark places no others will enter
    We stand on the bridge and no one may pass
  • Grant Fritchey (5/25/2011)


    Steve Jones - SSC Editor (5/25/2011)


    GilaMonster (5/25/2011)


    Grant and I are talking Execution plans for a whole day at PASS Summit this year.

    You are all coming? Right?

    Is that for sure? Did they pick pre-cons?

    Very tempting to go see....

    Yeah, it's confirmed. She forwarded the acceptance email, which is nice since I got a rejection on my submission of the SQL Rally pre-con. I also talked to one of the people on the committee. It's a done deal.

    I'm surprised (and a bit upset) that Grant didn't automatically get an acceptance letter for a session he's listed as co-speaker on. Would of thought they wouldn't just just send to the person who submitted.

    Gail Shaw
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
    SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability

    We walk in the dark places no others will enter
    We stand on the bridge and no one may pass
  • Gianluca Sartori (5/26/2011)


    Jeff Moden (5/25/2011)


    Gianluca Sartori (5/25/2011)


    No way, the Summit is too far and too expensive for me.

    Especially now that I'm moving into freelance consulting.

    You have the right attitude, Gianluca. You'll do well. Congratulations on "the move".

    Thank you for the confidence, Jeff.

    I can't help but be scared to death.

    I can really appreciate that. That's all part of the "right attitude". A little fear on something like this is a powerful motivator.

    --Jeff Moden


    RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
    First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
    ________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

    Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.


    Helpful Links:
    How to post code problems
    How to Post Performance Problems
    Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

  • GilaMonster (5/26/2011)


    Grant Fritchey (5/25/2011)


    Steve Jones - SSC Editor (5/25/2011)


    GilaMonster (5/25/2011)


    Grant and I are talking Execution plans for a whole day at PASS Summit this year.

    You are all coming? Right?

    Is that for sure? Did they pick pre-cons?

    Very tempting to go see....

    Yeah, it's confirmed. She forwarded the acceptance email, which is nice since I got a rejection on my submission of the SQL Rally pre-con. I also talked to one of the people on the committee. It's a done deal.

    I'm surprised (and a bit upset) that Grant didn't automatically get an acceptance letter for a session he's listed as co-speaker on. Would of thought they wouldn't just just send to the person who submitted.

    Don't be upset. We're in!

    "The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
    - Theodore Roosevelt

    Author of:
    SQL Server Execution Plans
    SQL Server Query Performance Tuning

  • Non-sequitur.

    Should I upgrade my LiveJournal account to a paid account? (EDIT) So I can customize my page more and embed it in my current website.

    Or should I bite the bullet and pay for web hosting services for my site (instead of piggybacking off of my ISP's space, which I get for free) and stick a Bloxsom or WordPress blog on my website?

    Brandie Tarvin, MCITP Database AdministratorLiveJournal Blog: http://brandietarvin.livejournal.com/[/url]On LinkedIn!, Google+, and Twitter.Freelance Writer: ShadowrunLatchkeys: Nevermore, Latchkeys: The Bootleg War, and Latchkeys: Roscoes in the Night are now available on Nook and Kindle.

  • Gianluca Sartori (5/26/2011)


    Jeff Moden (5/25/2011)


    Gianluca Sartori (5/25/2011)


    No way, the Summit is too far and too expensive for me.

    Especially now that I'm moving into freelance consulting.

    You have the right attitude, Gianluca. You'll do well. Congratulations on "the move".

    Thank you for the confidence, Jeff.

    I can't help but be scared to death.

    I've been freelance consulting for 15 years. You'll get used to it quickly and I'll bet you enjoy it. You'll do fine.

    --------------------------------------
    When you encounter a problem, if the solution isn't readily evident go back to the start and check your assumptions.
    --------------------------------------
    It’s unpleasantly like being drunk.
    What’s so unpleasant about being drunk?
    You ask a glass of water. -- Douglas Adams

  • Brandie Tarvin (5/26/2011)


    Non-sequitur.

    Should I upgrade my LiveJournal account to a paid account? (EDIT) So I can customize my page more and embed it in my current website.

    Or should I bite the bullet and pay for web hosting services for my site (instead of piggybacking off of my ISP's space, which I get for free) and stick a Bloxsom or WordPress blog on my website?

    I got a lifetime paid LJ account years ago. I like all the additional features. That said, when it came time to write blogs for the general public, I created WordPress blogs on my own site. There's more control and I think more of a chance people will actually read them. LJ primarially seems like a place you talk to people you already know.

    --------------------------------------
    When you encounter a problem, if the solution isn't readily evident go back to the start and check your assumptions.
    --------------------------------------
    It’s unpleasantly like being drunk.
    What’s so unpleasant about being drunk?
    You ask a glass of water. -- Douglas Adams

  • Stefan Krzywicki (5/26/2011)


    Gianluca Sartori (5/26/2011)


    Jeff Moden (5/25/2011)


    Gianluca Sartori (5/25/2011)


    No way, the Summit is too far and too expensive for me.

    Especially now that I'm moving into freelance consulting.

    You have the right attitude, Gianluca. You'll do well. Congratulations on "the move".

    Thank you for the confidence, Jeff.

    I can't help but be scared to death.

    I've been freelance consulting for 15 years. You'll get used to it quickly and I'll bet you enjoy it. You'll do fine.

    I went the hosted route and I've been very happy.

    "The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
    - Theodore Roosevelt

    Author of:
    SQL Server Execution Plans
    SQL Server Query Performance Tuning

  • Stefan Krzywicki (5/26/2011)


    Gianluca Sartori (5/26/2011)


    Jeff Moden (5/25/2011)


    Gianluca Sartori (5/25/2011)


    No way, the Summit is too far and too expensive for me.

    Especially now that I'm moving into freelance consulting.

    You have the right attitude, Gianluca. You'll do well. Congratulations on "the move".

    Thank you for the confidence, Jeff.

    I can't help but be scared to death.

    I've been freelance consulting for 15 years. You'll get used to it quickly and I'll bet you enjoy it. You'll do fine.

    Thank you, I hope so. Nobody knows me, it's going to be very hard for the first few months.

    -- Gianluca Sartori

  • Gianluca Sartori (5/26/2011)


    Stefan Krzywicki (5/26/2011)


    Gianluca Sartori (5/26/2011)


    Jeff Moden (5/25/2011)


    Gianluca Sartori (5/25/2011)


    No way, the Summit is too far and too expensive for me.

    Especially now that I'm moving into freelance consulting.

    You have the right attitude, Gianluca. You'll do well. Congratulations on "the move".

    Thank you for the confidence, Jeff.

    I can't help but be scared to death.

    I've been freelance consulting for 15 years. You'll get used to it quickly and I'll bet you enjoy it. You'll do fine.

    Thank you, I hope so. Nobody knows me, it's going to be very hard for the first few months.

    There are, to my mind, a few downsides to freelance consulting, but as long as you come up with solutions beforehand, they shouldn't be too bad.

    1) No paid vacation / sick time. (Unless you incorporate and pay yourself a monthly salary, but that's still iffy if you're doing one-off jobs).

    2) Paying your own FICA, SS Tax, etc.

    3) Setting aside money to make sure you can pay for # 2

    4) Quarterly tax returns

    5) No 401k free money

    This is all assuming you're working in the States. If you're working in another country, the burden may be something entirely different.

    Just make sure you have a plan to deal with whatever tax burden you're imposing on yourself, as well as profits and expenses, and you should be fine. Don't wait until the last minute to figure any of this stuff out. If you do, it will be painful.

    Brandie Tarvin, MCITP Database AdministratorLiveJournal Blog: http://brandietarvin.livejournal.com/[/url]On LinkedIn!, Google+, and Twitter.Freelance Writer: ShadowrunLatchkeys: Nevermore, Latchkeys: The Bootleg War, and Latchkeys: Roscoes in the Night are now available on Nook and Kindle.

  • 1) No paid vacation / sick time. (Unless you incorporate and pay yourself a monthly salary, but that's still iffy if you're doing one-off jobs).

    In my case it will be no vacation at all, no sick time. After all, I'm invincible. 😀

    2) Paying your own FICA, SS Tax, etc.

    I'll leave this to a professional. I won't even try to do it myself. Italian regulations on taxes are wild and crazy. You end up paying fines because you did not comply to one of the 100000 laws on the subject.

    3) Setting aside money to make sure you can pay for # 2

    Scary, bu true.

    4) Quarterly tax returns

    I'll leave this to a professional, for the same reasons.

    5) No 401k free money

    I don't know what this is. Can you explain?

    -- Gianluca Sartori

  • Gianluca Sartori (5/26/2011)


    5) No 401k free money

    I don't know what this is. Can you explain?

    You don't get free money??? :w00t: :hehe:

    After all, be lucky you are not freelancing in Belgium, we can pay up to 50% on taxes here :angry:

    (and even more on bonuses...)

    Need an answer? No, you need a question
    My blog at https://sqlkover.com.
    MCSE Business Intelligence - Microsoft Data Platform MVP

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